Wall mountable equipment system

ABSTRACT

APPARATUS FOR WALL MOUNTING ELECTRICAL, ARCHITECTURAL AND MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT UNITS IN A COORDINATED MANNER, COMPRISING A FRAME HAVING A BORDER MEMBER, AND A PLURALITY OF CROSS MEMBERS DIVIDING THE FRAME INTO A NUMBER OF SQUARE OR RECTANGULAR EQUIPMENT OPENINGS, ONE FOR EACH EQUIPMENT UNIT. EACH CROSS MEMBER HAS A FRONT FACE OF PREDETERMINED WIDTH, AND THE EQUIPMENT OPENINGS ALL HAVE SIDES SELECTED FROM THE LENGTHS CONSISTING OF 8, 16, 32 AND 80 INCHES, LESS IN EACH CASE SAID PREDETERMINED WIDTH. THIS ENABLES LOCATION OF UNITS SUCH AS DRINKING FOUNTAINS AT THE CORRECT HEIGHT FOR USE, FACILITATES INTERCHANGEABILITY OF UNITS, COORDINATES THE UNITS WITH THE HEIGHT OF A STANDARD 7-FOOT DOOR, AND ENABLES RAPID FRAME CONSTRUCTION FOR VARIOUS UNIT SELECTIONS USING ONE SIMPLE JIG.

Jan. 19, 1971 R. 'J. GELEZIUNAS. ,7 6

WALL MOUNTABLE EQUIPMENT SYSTEM Filed Dec. 23,.1968 4Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 2

28 FIG 4 32 (0/195CT0RV BOARD) 36 (ELECTRICAL PANEL) 34 (F/R' H056" 38 (ABM/7) (DRINK/N6 FOUNTAIN) lNV/iN'lUR.

RIMAS JONASGELEZIUNAS L -FIG.5

Jan, 19, 1971 R,IJ.GEL EZI UNAS 5 3,555,746

WALL MOUNTABLE EQUIPMENT SYSTEM 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 23, 1968 INVEN'I OR.

RIMAS JONAS GELEZIUNAS Jan. 19, 1971 R. J. GELEZIUNAS WALL MOUNTABLE EQUIPMENT SYSTEM 4Sheets Sheet-3 Filed Dec. zs, 1968 s A mm PM 4, o m G s m W M5 w a O m H m m R 8 M Fm w 1 m m n 2 110 mm. P H B W F 1 b cd m m mmmmm H 11111.19, 1971 -R.J.GELE'Z.UNAS ,555,1 6

WALL MOUNTABLE EQUIPMENT SYSTEM Filed Dec. 25, 1968' v 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

RIMAS JONAS GELEZIUNAS United States Patent US. Cl. 52-27 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for wall mounting electrical, architectural and mechanical equipment units in a coordinated manner, comprising a frame having a border member, and a plurality of cross members dividing the frame into a number of square or rectangular equipment openings, one for each equipment unit. Each cross member has a front face of predetermined width, and the equipment openings all have sides selected from the lengths consisting of 8, 16, 32 and 80 inches, less in each case said predetermined width. This enables location of units such as drinking fountains at the correct height for use, facilitates interchangeability of units, coordinates the units with the height of a standard 7-foot door, and enables rapid frame construction for various unit selections using one simple jig.

This invention relates to system which mounts together and cordinates various types of wall-mounted equipment which have ordinarily been separately mounted in an uncoordinated manner.

In the past, it has been common in the construction of large buildings such as office buildings, institutional buildings, apartment buildings, and the like, to wall mount various types of utility equipment, such as electrical equipment (circuit breaker panels, telephone cabinets, etc.), architectural equipment (ash trays, directory boards, etc.), and mechanical equipment (drinking fountains, fire hose cabinets, etc.) In the past, these various items have been separately mounted, usually at scattered locations, each being set individually into the wall struc ture, usually with a different type of mounting for each. This has required the architect to provide multiple specifications because of the many different types of equipment used, and design continuity has been diflicult or impossible to achieve because of the many different shapes, sizes and constructions of the various components used.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system in which the various components mentioned and other desired components are coordinated in appearance and construction and are mounted together in a single frame, the dimensions of the frame and of the various units being such that the units will be easy to use and reach. The system is based on an eight inch measuring unit and is such that many combinations of electrical, architectural, and mechanical units can be coordinated in one frame. Because of the dimensions selected for the system, the units are interchangeable to a substantial degree, and construction of a frame to accommodate the units selected for installation can be carried out simply and efficiently.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical frame for use with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the frame of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-secitonal view of the edge of the frame, taken along the lines 33 of FIG. 1, and also showing the edge of the frame mounted in a wall;

FIG. 4 is a section along lines 4-4 of FIG. 1;

3,555,746 Patented Jan. 19, 1971 ice FIG. 5 is a front view of the frame of FIG. 1, mounted in a wall with typical components mounted in place in the frame;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a fire hose cabinet shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view along lines 77 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view along lines 8-8 of FIG. 5 showing the construction of an electrical panel;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a drinking fountain shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view along lines 10-10 of FIG. 9 and showing the drinking fountain as mounted in the frame;

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing a clip used to connect the drinking fountain of FIG. 9 to the frame, and how the clip mounts on the frame;

FIG. 12 is a front view of a further typical system according to the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic view illustrating how equipment units can be located using the system of the invention;

FIG. 14 is a top view of a jig used to assemble frames such as the frame shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 15 is an end view of one of the holder blocks used in the jig of FIG. 14, with the frame members shown in dotted lines.

:Reference is first made to FIGS. 1 and 2, which show a composite frame 2 used for mounting equipment according to the present invention. The frame 2 is typically a Welded construciton made from 14-gauge cold rolled steel. (Other materials and gauges can of course be used). As shown, the frame 2 includes a border member 4 and cross members 6 which divide the frame into a number of rectangular and square openings '8, 10, 12, 14. These openings are for equipment units, as will be described, and referred to generically herein as quadrilateral openings having right-angled corners.

The frame 2 will typically be mounted in a Wall as shown in FIG. 3, which shows the border member 4 in cross section mounted in a wall made of brick, stone or other structural material 16 with a plaster facing 18. The border member 4 has an outwardly projecting flange 20, a face surface 22, and an inwardly projecting flange 24. The face surface 22 of the border member partly overlies the structural material 16 and is secured thereto by bolts 25 passing through wood spacer blocks 26 and into the wall. Alternatively, masonry ties can be welded to the frame and tied into the wall material 16 when the wall is formed.

The cross members 6 are shown in cross section in FIG. 4. These members are channels having front faces 28 and a pair of rearwardly extending flanges 30.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the frame of FIG. 1 with typical equipment units mounted in the spaces in the frame. As shown in FIG. 5, a directory board 32 is mounted in the space 8, a fire hose cabinet 34 is mounted in the space 10, an electric utility panel 36 (containing fuses, circuit breakers, etc.) is mounted in the space 12, and a drinking fountain 38 is mounted in the space 14. The electrical components in the panel board 36 are connected to circuits (not shown) in the wall structure behind the frame 2, and the pipes from the fire hose cabinet 34 and the drinking fountain 38 are connected to appropriate plumbing fittings (not shown) also in the wall behind frame 2.

FIG. 6 shows the fire hose cabinet 34 in perspective, and FIG. 7 shows how the fire hose cabinet 34 is mounted in the frame 2. As shown, the fire hose cabinet 34 has a back portion or tub 40 having a face flange 42. The face flange 42 is fastened to the frame 2 by screws 44 inserted through predrilled clearance holes in flange 42 and into tapped holes in the faces 28 of cross members 6 and in the face 22 of border member 4.

The cabinet 34 also includes a front door 46 secured to an elongated hinge 48 extending vertically along one side of the door. The hinge 48 is secured to the face flange 42 of the tub by the same screws 44 and used to fasten the tub to the frame. The screws 44 are hidden from view because the front surface of the door 46 is spaced forwardly of the face flange 42 of the tub 40, and the door has an encircling rearwardly directed flange 52 which hides the screws and provides a trim appearance.

The door 46 is retained in a normally closed position by a catch 54 having a rear post 56 which projects through one of the predrilled holes for screws 40 and is held in place by a retainer plate 58. A pull 60 fastened to the door yieldably engages the catch 54.

The electrical panel 36 is different from the fire hose cabinet 34 in that the door of panel 36 is typically spaced forwardly of its tub, to allow for the projection of circuit breaker handles in the tub. This is shown in FIG. 8, Where the electrical panel 3 6 is diagrammatically indicated as including a tub 62 containing circuit breakers 64 having control handles 66. Because of the projecting handles 66, the tub 62 of the electrical panel is fastened separately to the rearwardly projecting flanges 24, 30 of the frame by screws 68. The door 70 of the panel 36 is fastened to the front faces of the frame in the same manner as the door 46 of the fire hose cabinet.

For some equipment, e.g., telephones, it may be desirable to omit the tub completely and to mount the equipment (e.g., a telephone) on the wall directly behind the opening in the frame 2 for such equipment. If this were done for the electrical panel 36, for example, then the tub 62 would be omitted, but the door 70 would remain to conceal the equipment.

The drinking fountain 3 8 is shown in perspective in FIG. 9 and in cross section in FIG. 10. As shown, the fountain 38 has a rear panel portion 72 of a size to fit across the opening in the frame 2. To hold the fountain in the frame, a retaining strip 74 (FIG. 10) is fastened across the top of the opening 10, to the front face of cross member 6, by screws 76. The upper edge 78 of the fountain 3 8 hooks downwardly onto the retaining strip 74 to hold the top of the fountain.

The bottom of the fountain is held in place by bolts 80 which are screwed into nuts 82 welded to plate 84 welded tothe lower edge of the rear part of the fountain. The heads of the bolts '80 are retained by a pair of clips 86 (FIG. 11) which slide onto the frame at the bottom corners of hole 10, as indicated by arrows A in FIG. 11. Each clip 86 contains a bottom plate 88 which is supported by the upper surface of flange 24, a side plate 90 which is retained by the inner surface of flange 30, and a web 92 containing a hole 94 for the bolt 80. As an alternative to the clips 86, corner plates can be welded to the frame, but the clips make possible easy interchangeability of components. The frame members are predrilled with tapped holes in standardized locations, to accommodate screws holding equipment units or other parts such as the retaining strip 14.

The drinking fountain 38 is installed by hooking it at its top and then by fastening bolts 80 through access provided beneath the sink of the fountain. Plumbing indicated diagrammatically at 96 can be connected at this time. If necessary, further access can be gained through opening 14 before the fire hose cabinet is installed.

The dimensions used for the equipment unit openings of the system shown are of critical importance in achieving a workable system. The dimensions used for such openings are all based on an 8-inch measuring unit. Broadly stated, the length of each side of each equipment opening is equal to eight inches multiplied by a whole number, less in each case the width of the face of a cross member. Specifically, the openings 8 to 14 in the frame 2 will always have sides of length selected from the fol- 4 lowing list of dimensions: 8 inches, 16 inches, 32 inches, and inches, less in each case the width of the faces of the cross members 6. (The reason for these dimenisons will be explained presently). The width of the faces of the cross members 6 is typically 2 /2 inches and the dimensions of the various openings are then as follows:

( 1) opening '8 (directory board): 13 /2 inches by 29 /2 inches (2) opening 10 (fire hose cabinet): 29 /2 inches by 29 /2 inches (3) opening 12 (electrical panel): 13 /2 inches by 29% inches (4) opening 14 (drinking fountain): 13 /2 inches by 13 /2 inches.

The dimensions of the remainder of the frame 2,

and the dimensions of the various equipment units, are

as follows:

Dimension: Size, inches (a) (Length of flange 20) /2. (b) (Length of face 22) 1%. (c) (Length of flange 24) 1%. (d) (Width of face 28) 2 /2. (e) (Length of flanges 30) 1%. (f) (Width of door 46) 31 /2. (g) (Regress between door 46 and flange 20) /2. (h) (Spacing between adjacent panels) /2. (i) (Width of back part 40 of panel 36) Less than 13 /2. (j) (Overlap of door 46 on frame members) 1. (k) (Height of door 46) 31 /2. (in) (Height of back 40 of Less than 29 /2 panel 36) (for clearance).

Another typical embodiment of the system is shown in FIG. 12, which shows the system as comprising a cover panel 100 (to obtain access to plumbing or the like), fire hose cabinet 102, ash tray 104, drinking fountain 106, waste receptacle 108, and janitor sink 110, all organized into a single system on a frame 112 having border and cross members of cross section identical to those of frame 2. The dimensions of the openings in frame 116 for the various equipment units are:

Cover panel 10077 /z ins. by 13 /2 inches Fire hose cabinet 102-29 /2 ins. by 29 /2 inches Ash tray 10413 /z ins. by 13 /2 inches Drinking fountain 10613 /2 ins. by 13% inches Waste receptacle 10813 /2 ins. by 29 /2 inches Janitor sink 11013 /2 ins. by 29% inches.

As before, the face of each equipment unit overlaps the faces of the frame members enclosing it by one inch, leaving a one-half inch border between and around the equipment units. Thus, the height n of the exterior face of the cover panel 100, for example, is 79 /2 inches. A lower baseboard 114 is provided (attached simply by screws to the frame 112; no opening is needed for the baseboard, which is not considered to be an equipment unit). The height 0 of the baseboard is 4 inches, and the gap between the faces of units 100, 108, 110 and the top of the baseboard 114 is the usual /2 inch, so that the total height of the tops of the faces of units 100, 102 above the floor 116 is 84 inches. This height is such that the tops of the faces of units 100, 102 are at the same level as the top of a standard 7-foot door 118, as indiacted by dotted line 120.

The dimensions described for the equipment openings provide compatibility with the standard seven-foot doors usually used in buildings of the type in which the equipment in question will normally be used, with the use of a 4-inch baseboard. At the same time, the dimensions are such that certain units, such as drinking fountains, can be located at an optimum height for use. Most equipment units used with the system of the invention will have face dimension no less than about 16 inches (less the inch clearance all around) so the invention in effect provides an 80-inch height divided into five 16-inch blocks 122a to 122e as shown in FIG. 13. Drinking fountains will (for adults) always be located in the middle block 122e (or the top two blocks 122b, 1220 if the fountain is nominally 32 inches in height), so that in all cases the bottom of the fountain will be 32 inches plus 4 inches (the height of the baseboard) or 36 inches above the floor.

If a -inch measuring unit were picked instead of an 8-inch measuring unit, then since a 10-inch high outside dimension is too small for most units, the nominal height of the drinking fountain and of most other units would have to be at least inches. For an available height of 80 inches, this divides the height into four blocks, and the bottom of the drinking fountain would then have to be either 44 inches above the floor (which is too high) or 24 inches above the floor (which is too low). In addition, other units, such as fire hose cabinets, would have to have sides of either about 20 inches in length (which is inconveniently small), or about inches in length (which would leave an awkward amount of space to be filled by the other units) or about inches in length, which is too large.

The dimensions used according to the invention not only permit suitable loaction of units, and convenient unit sizes, but also facilitate manufacture of frames for the system. Frames for the system of the invention will typically be manufactured using jigs of the type shown in FIG. 14.

The jig shown in FIG. 14 consists of a flat metal table 124 with a series of spaced copper holders 126 fastened thereto by screws 128. Each of the blocks 126 is square in outline and includes a pair of crossed shallow, wide central channels 130, and a pair of crossed narrower and deeper central channels 132 in the bottoms of the channels 130 (see also FIG. 15).

To assemble the frame 2, the border members 4 and cross members 6 are cut to the desired length, with the corners of the border members 4 being cut at a -degree angle. The border members 4 are then fitted into the blocks 126 with the flanges 20 resting against the outer edge and bottom of the narrow channels 132 (FIG. 15), the face flanges 22 resting on the bottom surfaces of shallow channels 130, and the rear flanges 24 resting against the inner edges of shallow channels 130. The depth r of channels 132 is made the same as the height of flanges 20 (V2 inch) and the dimension s from either side of channels 132 to the opposite side of channels 130 is made equal to the width b (FIG. 3) of the face flange (1 /2 inches in the example under discussion) plus the thickness of the steel flange 20 (typically about A inch) plus a slight clearance (so that dimension s is typically about 1 inch). Thus, border members 4 can be fitted into the holder blocks 126 in any orientation (so long as flanges 24 project upwardly) and they will be snugly retained in position.

The cross members 6 are next inserted in the required positions with their face flanges 28 resting on the bottom surface of channels 130 and their rear flanges 30 resting against the sides of channels 130. The width t of channels 130 is made equal to dimension d (FIG. 4) plus a slight clearance, so that Width t is typically 1 inch, so as to retain cross members 6 snugly in position.

After border members 4 and cross members 6 are fitted into the blocks 126, they are welded together, and the resultant frame is then removed for finishing.

The holder blocks 126 are spaced apart in a square grid pattern at 16-inch centres. In other words, each block 126 has a centre point 134 as viewed from above, and these centres are each spaced 16 inches from the centres of the adjacent blocks. This provides in effect a 16-inch measuring unit on which the frame 2 is based. The 16-inch centres are used because only rarely will a particular equipment unit be based on an 8-inch opening,

and spacing the blocks 126 apart on 8-inch centres would require nearly four times as many blocks and would clutter the surface of table 124. The table 124 can be predrilled to accommodate holder blocks 126 spaced on 8-inch centres, and then blocks spaced on such centres can be placed where required on the table if a particular frame under construction has equipment units based on 8-inch centres. (The units most likely to have at least one side based on 8-inch centres are ashtrays.) With this arrangement of blocks, frames with openings based on any multiple of 8 inches can easily be constructed.

The jig described is feasable because of the use in the system of the 8 (or 16) inch measuring unit, which means that all the equipment openings have side dimensions which are multiples of the measuring unit, less in each case the width of the faces of the cross members 6. In other words, the distance between the centre lines of adjacent parallel internal cross members is always a multiple of 8 inches. Another way of starting this is that each side of each equipment opening is a multiple of 8 inches less half of the combined widths of the frame members at each end of such side. This enables the use of holder blocks 126 based on a square grid pattern to enable construction of a frame with desired equipment openings. If the equipment openings were based on a different measuring unit (e.g., 10 inches), then as discussed, some units would be located improperly for use, and others would be awkward sizes. This problem could be overcome by eliminating the use of a standard measuring unit for the system and making each equipment unit of the size required for it, without regard for the other units, but then construction of each frame would be a diflicult custom job; units would not be interchangeable, and there would be no coordination of units. In short, each system would be a completely separate design job requiring far more effort and expenses than is the case with the present invention.

Although specific dimensions have been given for the frame members, other dimensions can be used so long as the 8 inch basic measuring unit for the equipment openings is retained. For example, the width of the faces 28 of the cross members 6 can be made more or less than 2 /2 inches, with an appropriate adjustment in the size of the openings so that the basic 8-inch measuring unit for the equipment openings remains. A typical satisfactory range is between 2 and 3 inches for the face width of cross members 6. In addition, the cross members can be made of box construction instead of channel construction for greater strength.

The dimensions of the equipment units themselves can and will vary with changes in the size of the openings in the frame. If the openings decrease in size, then the size of the tubs of those panels which project into the openings will also decrease in size, to maintain a clearance between the sides of the rear parts of the panels and the frame cross members. In addition, the size of the front parts of the units can be enlarged slightly to provide less than the one-half inch spacing between the edges of the fronts of the various panels.

The forwardly projecting flange 20 of the border member is provided when the frame 2 is to be recessed within a wall. If the face of the frame is to be flush with the wall, then front flange 20 will be eliminated.

Although specific units have been shown as mounted in frames, it would be apparent that other types of units can be used as desired. Among other various types of components that can be mounted in the coordinated system provided by the present invention are display cases, telephone cabinets, milk boxes, clocks, and ventilating duct covers.

What is claimed is:

1. A wall mountable equipment system for fire equipment, electrical equipment, drinking fountains, waste receptacles, and the like, comprising (a) a rigid preassembled frame having a plurality of cross members extending vertically and horizontally and dividing said frame into a plurality of quadrilateral equipment openings having right-angled corners, each cross member having a fiat unbroken front face across its entire width between said openings, said front faces of said cross members all being of the same predetermined width, said cross members being U-shaped in crosssection, with a pair of side flanges projecting rearwardly one from each side of said front face, said side flanges having outwardly opposed side faces,

(b) each side of said equipment opening being of length equal to eight inches multiplied by a Whole number, less in each case said predetermined width,

(c) a plurality of equipment units, one equipment unit for each equipment opening, each equipment unit having a panel member of a size slightly larger than its associated opening, for each panel member to fit across and cover its associated opening, the dimensions of said panel members relative to said frame being such that the edges of each panel member are spaced apart from the edges of adjacent panel members, to leave therebetween uncovered recessed strips, said uncovered strips being of uniform width between said panel members, at least some of said equipment units having tub members, each tub member being smaller than its associated opening, for insertion of said tub members from the front of said frame into said openings,

(d) removable means for fastening said equipment units to corresponding faces of said cross members so that the said equipment units can be attached to and removed from said frame at the front of said frame, Without disturbing said frame,

(e) and means for fastening said frame to a wall.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said pre- 8 determined width is in the range between two and three inches.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said equipment units include equipment of the type having electrical connections in said wall, and equipment of the type having plumbing connections in said wall.

4, Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said frame includes a border member encircling said cross members, said cross members being joined integrally to each other, and to said border member to form a one-piece frame.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said border member further includes a forwardly directed flange at the outer edge of the front face of said border member, said forwardly directed flange being adapted to overlie the edges of a wall in which said frame is to be mounted.

6. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said uncovered strip is of width equal to one-half inch.

7. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein at least one of said equipment units houses fire fighting equipment.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,897,966 2/1933 Zubaty et al. 24827X 2,709,634 5/1955 Blashfield 312-111 2,902,328 9/1959 Auer 312111X 3,035,446 5/1962 Ross 248-27X 3,230,549 1/1966 McMurtrie et al. 52-35X 3,358,190 12/1967 Mathison 248-27X 3,378,320 4/1968 Morgan et al 312-111X PRICE C. PAW, 111., Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

